Around Us 01-12-11

Published 12:00 pm, Wednesday, January 12, 2011

LUBBOCK - Lubbock police closed 2010 with a 130 percent clearance rate in homicides - the first time in five years detectives have solved all the year's murders plus some by year's end.

The homicide rate in Lubbock also dropped last year and was below the 10-year average for the city, as well as below the national average in 2009, the most recent year for which full national data was available.

All 10 homicides in Lubbock were considered closed by arrest following formal criminal charges in each case. Police also made arrests in three old cases, including two 2009 homicides and one murder in 1994.

The national average for clearing murder cases was at 66.6 percent in 2009 compared to a 10-year annual average for Lubbock police of about 93 percent, according to an Avalanche-Journal analysis of records and numbers provided by the agency. The local department's clearance rate was 69 percent in 2009, when nine of 13 homicides were closed by year's end.

There have been 121 reported homicide cases and 110 cases cleared in Lubbock since 2001, according to police records.

Most of the homicide victims in Lubbock last year were killed by somebody they knew, which was consistent with murder trends nationwide.

According to the FBI crime report, of the cases involving a known suspect, 22 percent involved strangers. Twenty-four percent were committed by family members, 38 percent by acquaintances and 13 percent by friends or boyfriends/girlfriends.

Last year's murder victims in Lubbock ranged in age from 22 to 52. Three were strangled, three were stabbed and four were shot, according to published reports. - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

• • •

LUBBOCK - City officials on Tuesday issued a written warning to a Lubbock apartment complex in lieu of a citation after police say sprinkler runoff contributed to a serious crash early Tuesday morning at Quaker Avenue and 66th Street.

While the warning was the first written notice for the Courtyards by the Lake, police say they already verbally warned complex officials about turning off the sprinklers in freezing conditions following a minor crash near the same location Monday.

Lt. Jon Caspell said a large icy patch that stretched across the southbound lanes was believed to be a contributing factor in the crash that seriously injured Ryan Scoggins, a 21-year-old Texas Tech student from Austin, early Tuesday morning. Police also suspected speed and alcohol were factors, though the investigation was ongoing.

Scoggins was in critical condition at University Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon, according to a hospital official.

Caspell said the sprinklers at the Courtyard by the Lakes apartment complex weren't running when officers arrived on scene. However, he added it was obvious after following the icy trail that it was caused by runoff that originated from the complex.

City ordinance bars sprinklers from running once the temperature drops below 35 degrees. Violation is a Class C misdemeanor, which carries a fine up to $500. - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

• • •

AMARILLO - Amarillo police Tuesday were searching for a man who robbed a New Mexico woman as she left a department store early Monday evening.

The unidentified 42-year-old victim had just left the T.J. Maxx store and began placing bags in her vehicle when she was struck from behind and knocked to the ground, a police news release said.

The victim struggled with a black man who took her purse and ran west through the parking lot, witnesses told police. They chased the man but were unable to catch him. Police described the suspect as being in his 20s and wearing a black leather jacket and dark jeans. - Amarillo Globe-News

McCartt joins city commissioners Ron Boyd and Madison Scott in sitting out this election season, giving one group that opposes some commission actions hope it can find like-minded candidates to support in the May 14 city election.

Two-term Commissioner Brian Eades said Tuesday he would be seeking re-election. Three-term Commissioner Jim Simms confirmed last week plans to run again.

Harpole is an ardent supporter of downtown revitalization and serves as one of the city's representatives on the Center City TIRZ Board of Directors. He wants to continue the downtown efforts begun by McCartt and the commission and push revitalization elsewhere in Amarillo. - Amarillo Globe-News